I-751 filed single after a divorce - possible denial

[mandarinka]

Hi!
My ex-husband and I got married in Dec. 2006 on my 20th birthday in the US. After the wedding we went back overseas where he was stationed with the US NAVY and filed for my permanent residence through a US Embassy. I was granted my conditional permanent residence in Sept. 2007.
Shortly after moving to the States we started having marital problems, mostly due to his neglect and bad treatment of me. I tried to work things out but he flat out refused. After fining out that on top of everything he was cheating on me I left him. We separated in October, 2008. I hired a lawyer for the divorce and the immigration proceedings. Unfortunately my lawyer did not pay much attention to my case and it was very hard to get him to do things. It took me nearly 1 year to get an uncontested divorce which is unheard of! Finally, I filed my I-751 single based on "marriage entered into in good faith, but resulted in divorce" because this is what my lawyer advised me to do, in August, 2009. Because of my husband's infidelities he always insisted on keeping our finances separate and we didn't really have any property to speak of... Long story short, I don't have very many documents that would show our marriage as "in good faith" in immigration services terms. At the end of January, 2010 I received a notice from the USCIS requesting additional documents as proof of a bona fide marriage. Like I said previously, I don't have much, but I found a few bills with both our names on them, joint tax return from 2007, health, dental and auto insurance policies and a couple other papers.
I went on-line researching this topic (my lawyer is MIA again and not answering phone calls) and I found information saying that the RFE is a "courtesy notice" which is something new the USCIS is doing. It said that basically they would have denied me but gave me a chance to provide more information.
Now, I'm worried that USCIS will deny my petition based on insufficient evidence. I am wondering what my options would be if that were to happen. Should I appeal, or re-file? How much time will I have before they will start the deportation process? Am I still going to be called in for an interview or will they just deny based on the paperwork only? I'm freaking out a little.
My new boyfriend just recently proposed to me and I am not sure if that fact would make any difference. I we were to get married while my case is being processed would I be able to stay in the US or would I still have to leave? If so, would I have to re-apply for a green card and start the entire process all over again?
Please, help me! I am just a young girl who married the wrong guy and ended up in a bad situation. I spent a lot of money on a lawyer who was of no help whatsoever. Sometimes I think I know more about the immigration law that he does...
Any replies will be much appreciated!
Thank you!

 

[okalian]

mandarinka
welcome to our forum! First off, relax. Lets discuss the WORST case scenario, which is if they deny you i-751. In such manner, you'll be sent an NTA (Notice to Appear) in front of an immigration judge, in which you can defend your case and USCIS will have the burden of evidence, i.e they must prove that your marriage was not bonafide. Also, you'll have the option to refile I-751 even before appearing (please experts correct me if I'm mistaken).

Your current situation isn't as bas as you think. Think of an RFE as an attempt by USCIS to help you help them approve your case by giving you a chance to provide more support to your petition. And i believe the further evidence you've found will certainly be of great help. Can't you find any pictures? Can't you get letters from friends and family? emails exchanged? letters addresses to either of you at the same address? even junk mail? This is your chance to defend your greencard, so do your very best to provide as much evidence as possible. Too much evidence will never hurt, while little evidence will certainly make things much more complicated. Take the time to write a personal statement/testimony about how you met and what caused your marriage to end. The interview is very likely, but it's not always the case.

As for your lawyer, talk to him and see how serious he is about continuing his work with you. I've came across many people who successfully went through the i-751 waiver without the help of a lawyer, so i followed along. Waiting and praying

 

[mandarinka]

Can't you find any pictures? Can't you get letters from friends and family? emails exchanged? letters addresses to either of you at the same address? even junk mail? This is your chance to defend your greencard, so do your very best to provide as much evidence as possible. Too much evidence will never hurt, while little evidence will certainly make things much more complicated. Take the time to write a personal statement/testimony about how you met and what caused your marriage to end.

Okalian,
I have done all that the first time I submitted my petition. I sent in a pile of pictures, e-mails, text message print outs, i had a CD with phone conversations that I recorded, statements from 8 different people that knew us at different points in our married life, stubs from post office where I sent him care packages... you name it! I put everything I could find in that packet. The envelope was about an inch thick when I mailed it! And I still received that RFE... I'm just musing and reeling how all that could possibly be not enough!

 

[okalian]

how about financial documents such as joint credit card and bank statements?

 

[Triple Citizen]

How much proof of financial cohabitation did you send?

And I still received that RFE...

 

[mandarinka]

How much proof of financial cohabitation did you send?

Like, I said, we didn't have any... He refused to get a joint bank account or a credit card with me. Naturally, right after moving to the states I had no credit history so he used the lame excuse that if he added me too his loan accounts it would bring his interest rate up... We barely lived together, he was always away, even when he didn't HAVE to be. He would send me just limited amounts of money (to control me and limit what I could do), just enough to pay the bills and buy some groceries. He would transfer the money into my own bank account out of his. I enclosed copies of my bank account statements in the first packet, but they said that that was irrelative. They want only the statements from accounts we owned jointly. Believe me, I have thought of all that. The problem is that there wasnt anything... He completely cut me out of everything.

 

[Triple Citizen]

If you sent everything that you have as proof, send the same batch again as response ot the RFE and a cover letter stating that fact. One does not create more proof just because someone is asking for it. If it does not exist, it does not exist.

I enclosed copies of my bank account statements in the first packet, but they said that that was irrelative. They want only the statements from accounts we owned jointly. Believe me, I have thought of all that. The problem is that there wasnt anything... He completely cut me out of everything.